The big names got small.
One bubble per name, sized by the largest share of a year's American births it ever took. Packed left to right by the year it crested.
4.81%
of every American baby born in 1880 was named John. One in twenty-one.
0.67%
is the biggest any name has managed since 2010 — Liam, 2024. Seven times smaller. Same country, seven times less agreement about what to call a child.
Arrow keys move between names, Enter opens the one in focus, Escape clears it. Or type a name into the field above.
Colour — the name’s first letter
Area — its biggest share of a year
The arc — years above half that peak
Share = a name’s births in a year ÷ all American births that year. A name is drawn if it ever took 0.04% of a year; peak is its largest such share, and the arc counts the years it stayed above half of it.
Open its full story →
The names of your birth year
Top boys’ names
Top girls’ names